Tencent has acquired a 15.75 percent stake in Arrowhead Games – the development studio behind Helldivers 2 – for $80m.
Tencent has previously founded or acquired shares in a variety of video game companies, including a new gaming venture with Ubisoft Games, total ownership of Riot Games, a major ownership position for 10 Chamber, and its own publishing arm Level Infinite.
Speaking to DI, founder John Pilestedt stated that bringing Tencent in as partial owners “opens up opportunities for China as a market. Gaining access to the Chinese player base is the holy grail in the gaming industry.”
The remaining 84.25 percent of shares are owned by Arrowhead founders Johan Pilestedt, Emil Englund, Malin Hedstrom, Peter Lindgren, and Anton Stenmark.
A recent financial report reviewed by DI stated Arrowhead had a turnover of 959m SEK, which is around £73,736,551 / $99,877,484.85 / €87,516,806.33, and an operating profit of 729m SEK which is £56,052,445.50 / $75,911,192.99 / €66,526,965.99. That’s a lot of cash!
Not too much of a surprise, considering Helldivers 2 was PlayStation’s fastest selling game ever. The game had recently found itself the stage for an invasion of Super Earth itself which revitalised the game’s player base to its highest point since that period of intense launch hype.
All the while Arrowhead bosses remain supportive of the pursuit of new and interesting ideas rather than trend chasing, with Pilestadt stating at GDC that the industry is doomed to “unnecessary layoffs” by “chasing after the battle royales”.